Chapter 67 Gentle Slope and Cavalry

On the fourth day, the Mexican cavalry went out as usual.

Antony's troops were also supported, with a total strength of 2,500 men and fifteen cannons.

The two sides had been engaged in a fierce artillery battle since the morning. The sudden increase in the Mexican army's artillery fire caught Anthony by surprise.

Looking at the pieces of fallen parapets, Anthony made the same choice as any experienced cowboy on this continent.

The El Paso Legion used their caravans to block the gap in the parapet, but did not wait for a full-scale Mexican attack.

Anthony dusted himself off and cursed, "Damn Mexicans, Indian bastards, where did they get so many artillery? Let Austin bring more artillery tomorrow."

At this time, a scarred cowboy rushed into the camp on horseback.

Anthony immediately recognized the other party as Captain Jabbar, who was responsible for delivering supplies.

"What's going on? Is it an Indian?"

"No, Mr. Anthony. It's the Mexican cavalry. They cut off our retreat."

"How many are there!?" Anthony asked eagerly.

"About a regiment" and then Captain Jabbar passed out.

"Jabbar! Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!..." Anthony was still shouting. This was not because of how good their relationship was, but because the cavalry regiment's gratitude was very vague at this time.

The American cavalry regiment may consist of 400 or 500 men. It usually consists of two squadrons, each squadron has 2 companies, and each company has 100-125 men.

However, in Europe, the French cavalry regiment usually has 4 squadrons and 800 people, the Prussian cavalry regiment usually consists of five squadrons, and the Austrian cavalry regiment usually has 7-8 squadrons. The Russian cavalry regiment does not have a fixed number of squadrons, including Mixed with a large number of Cossacks, the British cavalry regiment numbered 450 men.

Anthony could only rely on his own experience in dealing with Indians. 50 pioneers could deal with 300 Indian warriors.

If there were 500 Mexican cavalry, it would be enough to send 300 Texan soldiers. But for safety reasons, General Anthony decided to send the 200 mercenaries as well. After all, they were experts in dealing with Indians.

(At this time, there were a large number of Indians and Indo-European hybrids in the Mexican army, and these people were called Indians by Americans.)

The search force sent by Anthony soon discovered the Mexican cavalry on a hillside.

At this time, the Americans, due to long-term battles with Indians, did not take these saber-wielding cavalry seriously.

On the contrary, they felt that in this era, the use of cold weapons was a very ridiculous behavior. Their own cavalry also used pistols and rifles. It was only after 1838 that they began to use Colt cavalry revolvers (no longer pressing the hammer).

Gablenz was a little surprised on the hillside. It wasn't that the Texas troops came quickly, but that there were too few.

On this inconspicuous hillside, a total of 2,000 Mexican cavalry were stationed. Their purpose was to block enemy reinforcements and prevent the El Paso Legion from escaping.

What surprised Gablenz even more was that instead of retreating, this small Texan force advanced along the gentle slope, seemingly intending to capture the hilltop.

The Texas Army's search force was led by Colonel Bob. His idea was simple: rush up and kill all the Indians. He could take advantage of the range of the rifle. Anyway, the opponent only had sabers.

Suddenly there was a hail of bullets flying from the mountain. Colonel Bob touched his forehead, and his hands were covered with blood.

"How is this possible?" Colonel Bob fell heavily to the ground. He couldn't understand why those cavalry had guns.

In fact, this is related to the Austrian tradition. The cavalry in the Netaleña region was originally dominated by dragoons, and General Gablenz himself was a dragoon commander. It is not surprising that the Mexican cavalry he trained would become dragoons.

Gablenz felt that he had a numerical advantage, and he could not be sure whether the opponent's force was a decoy or whether the opponent had follow-up troops, so he first asked the soldiers to dismount and shoot at the enemy, and at the same time let the reserve team prepare for an assault.

However, what he didn't expect was that the opponent was defeated so quickly. They fell into chaos as soon as the battle started, and then began to flee.

There was a flat Gobi Desert in front of them, with no hiding place at all, and it was at least two kilometers away from the Texan camp. It was impossible for these defeated soldiers to run back.

Gablenz signaled the messenger to signal, but the cavalry on the side could no longer hold their nerve. After receiving the order, they immediately poured down the hillside.

The fleeing El Paso Legionnaires were heartbroken when they heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves behind them.

Some people wanted to organize a counterattack. After all, it was impossible for a two-legged man to outrun a four-legged horse, but those people could only be dragged around by the defeated troops and ran around in the Gobi Desert.

Naturally, the Mexican cavalry would not miss this good opportunity to cut wheat. The cavalry slammed into the broken ranks and began to massacre.

The defeated soldiers who were left behind had no choice but to run forward desperately if they wanted to survive, or pull down their companions to delay the cavalry's pursuit. This scene was very similar to the "rolling bead curtain" strategy used by the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago. ".

The two-kilometer-long flat Gobi desert destined these defeated soldiers to be unable to escape back to the camp alive.

At this time, the commanders of the Texas Army were all colonists and slave owners. They had no war experience. Even the mercenaries only had experience fighting Indian tribes.

They don't know the horror of the gentle slope, let alone the horror of the cavalry.

The reason why Gabrentz chose this small hill as a blocking point is that this terrain is not conducive to local attacks, and it can also play to the strengths of his own cavalry.

In the end, only a few people in the team of 500 people escaped back to the El Paso Legion camp.

These people were deliberately let go by Gabrentz, and his purpose was to hit the morale of the El Paso Legion.

These soldiers who escaped death were either silent or shouting, because they had just experienced a horrible massacre, and their comrades around them were chopped down one by one.

The Mexican cavalry did not allow the Texans to surrender, and used sabers to bleed the surrendered people, and then rode behind those who surrendered and drove them to the El Paso Legion camp.

"Damn it! Can't even deal with those damn Indians! What a bunch of trash!" Anthony cursed.

"So what should we do now?"

"I know what to do? There are Mexican artillery and fortifications in front of us, and the rear road is cut off by the enemy's cavalry. What can I do! Damn Houston, why didn't he come to support me!" Anthony actually regretted not defending in Austin.

The firepower of the Mexican army is much stronger than that of the El Paso Legion. Now the El Paso position is full of loopholes and can't be blocked.

What worries Anthony the most is the morale problem. Most of these people have never been on the battlefield. If it was two days ago, he could have let these new recruits break through, or even attack Tasan Anna's position head-on to fight to the death.

But now fear and the shadow of death have enveloped the entire army. He can only hope that Houston will send people to rescue, and then escape back to Austin with internal and external cooperation.

However, the Mexican army did not give him this opportunity. After the bombardment stopped, Tasan Anna's messenger issued him an ultimatum, demanding that the El Paso Legion surrender immediately.

Anthony saw the red flag raised in the Mexican camp, and he thought of the legend that if he didn't surrender now, the Mexicans would no longer accept surrender.

At this time, the cavalry team that killed Colonel Bob came from Austin, and Anthony found that it was not a cavalry regiment, but a cavalry brigade.

Anthony knew that if he didn't surrender, he would never leave alive, so he chose to surrender. It was not that he didn't have courage, but he didn't want to make a meaningless sacrifice.